Barrett and Greene have done original research and writing in fields pertaining to state and local government and are columnists and correspondents for Governing magazine, where they founded the Government Performance Project. They are senior fellows at the Council of State Governments; special projects consultants for the Volcker Alliance; senior fellows at the Governing Institute; and fellows at the National Academy of Public Administration.

They have helped found and serve on the boards of two organizations: GovPerformance and the State Government Workforce Project. They have also served in an advisory capacity to many organizations, including the National League of Cities, the Urban Institute, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the Association of Government Accountants, the Council of State Governments, the Center for a Better South and others.

As sexual harassment allegations take down powerful politicians, states and cities are revisiting their training and policies for the bureaucrats who have far less power but keep the government running.

Thanks to recent revenue increases, some states are unfreezing public workers’ pay for the first time since before the recession. But looking at pay levels rather than total compensation hides a great deal of the story.

Although not every city and state is eager to form inspector general offices -- New York City leaders, for example, are currently debating the benefits of one for the police department -- the trend toward more of them has been steady.